This is the time of resolutions, health goals, hope for transformation and new beginnings. As you set your goals and make your plans for 2015, we at PHW hope we can support you and your faith community in your health goals. We encourage you to make small, sustainable changes that become part of a healthy lifestyle rather than a temporary fix or short term solution. Although well-intentioned, New Year’s resolutions do not have a great track record. According to a New York Times article a few years ago, four out of five people eventually break their resolutions, and a third don’t even make it through the end of January. More current numbers say only 8% maintain their resolutions. So how can we go against this trend?
It can help to have a plan, a specific commitment, and a group to hold you accountable. Instead of resolving to, “get healthier,” maybe commit to drink the recommended amount of water each day. Getting your congregation involved and creating healthy environments can help the whole community succeed in being healthier. If you set the goal to become a certified congregation in 2015, or certify at a higher level, please let us know so we can support your journey! This is a measurable, attainable goal that will contribute to a healthier community in the year to come
As we make our personal and communal New Year’s resolutions and commit to ways we can grow and change for the better in the year to come, let us also remember that every day we have a chance to be made new. Every decision we make can be one toward health, toward achieving your goals. All is not lost with one bad day, one wrong decision, or a temporary fall into your old ways. I wonder if this is why so many resolutions fail — we give up after one mistake. It is easy to get discouraged, but let’s try to embrace every day as a new beginning. In the Anne of Green Gables series, her beloved teacher says, “Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it.” Thanks be to God we get so many chances to begin again. Happy New Year!
